Throwback Tuesdays: Against All Authority - "Lifestyle of Rebellion"

Against All Authority has been keeping it real for over a decade and a half now, forming in the Magic City back in 1992, anchored mainly by bassist/vocalist Danny Lore and guitarist/vocalist Joe Koontz. While the band often gets easily lumped into the "ska-punk" category, it has mostly eschewed the cheesiness often found in that subgenre, favoring calls to action over good-time party tunes. And sonically, when you strip away the brass section (now just a single trumpet), what's left are some excellent straight-ahead punk tunes. These are fun, though; AAA's idea of revolution is anything but dour and boring.

This track, "Lifestyle of Rebellion," comes from the band's 1996 debut album, Destroy What Destroys You. Now out of print, the disc was released by the now-defunct Far Out Records, and featured 22 short but explosive songs. In retrospect, some of the political lyrics featured, let's say, oversimplications: "Fuck your system and fuck you too," "Here's another fuck you song," etc. To pissed-off teenagers and early twentysomethings, though, this was amazing stuff. And the album's best tunes (none of which clock in over two-and-a-half minutes) still stand up as top-notch nuggets of scrappy, raw power.

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